By Admin 
The investigation into the Sabarimala gold theft case has entered a crucial phase with the arrest of key accused Unnikrishnan Potti. Potti was arrested on Thursday (October 16, 2025) morning after being interrogated for more than 10 hours at the Crime Branch office in the state capital.
His arrest marks the first breakthrough in the case of theft of the idols of Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) at Sabarimala and gold from the Kattilapaddi (threshold) of Srikovil. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has registered two separate cases against Potti, who is accused of allegedly smuggling gold from the temple under the guise of a sponsor.
SIT has made 10 people accused in both the FIRs, in which Potti’s name is in both the FIRs and he is the main accused. It is estimated that 475 grams of gold was involved in this theft. Investigators found that only three grams of gold was used for the offering, with Potti embezzling the rest.
He also allegedly collected money from two persons in Bengaluru for the same purpose. Now the scope of suspicion has increased and senior officials of Travancore Devaswom Board have also joined it. On February 16, 2019, the then Sabarimala Executive Officer recommended handing over the gold-plated copper sheets of the sanctum sanctorum structure to Potti for re-gold plating.
However, when the proposal reached the Commissioner, the wording was changed. From this, the part ‘gold layer’ was removed and only ‘copper sheets’ was written. The Commissioner, Executive Officer, Administrative Officer and Assistant Engineer have all been named for serious lapses.
The SIT, led by SP Sasidharan, registered the arrest at around 2.30 am in Thiruvananthapuram and took Potti for medical examination. He will be produced in the Ranni court in Pathanamthitta later. Separate FIRs have been filed for both the thefts, in one of which the Devaswom Board has been made the eighth accused. Corruption charges are expected under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The investigators have also unearthed links between Potti and a private firm called Smart Creations, which is allegedly involved in gold plating work. The vigilance report claims that the gold was not brought as an offering by devotees, but from Bengaluru and Mumbai. The SIT is now investigating a bigger conspiracy and the involvement of insiders of the temple administration.